Today's SNAP reduction is equivalent to a week's meals for a 9-year-old

While children across the United States are counting up their Halloween candy today, nearly 21 million of them, and their families, are experiencing a reduction in their monthly food stamp benefit. That’s because a temporary benefits increase provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—the economic stimulus package created to respond to the Great Recession—expires today.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously and commonly known as food stamps, provides a monthly benefit to help low-income families purchase food. As of July 2013, SNAP provided food assistance to 47.6 million people in 23.1 million households. The average benefit across all families was about $273 per month.

It is no secret that SNAP played a vital role in assisting families during the recession. SNAP enrollment increased by about 80 percent during the recession. That SNAP would grow during the recession is not surprising as SNAP enrollment has generally followed the unemployment rate, dating back to the 1970s (see chart 1). What stands out is a particularly sharp increase beginning in 2007, coinciding with huge spikes in unemployment and the start of the Great Recession.

Part of that increase reflects SNAP’s role as an “automatic stabilizer,” supporting families when hard times hit. As families saw their incomes drop (or vanish entirely) during the recession, more became eligible for assistance. In addition to this automatic response feature of SNAP, ARRA expanded opportunities for Americans to receive food assistance--and temporarily increased benefits by an average of 15 percent per family. This amounted to an $80-per-month increase for a family of four receiving the maximum benefit amount back in 2009.

Unfortunately for families who are enrolled in SNAP today, these extra dollars are riding off into the ARRA sunset. According to the USDA, a family of four receiving the maximum benefit sees their monthly benefit decrease by $36 today, or about 5.4 percent of the total amount, and benefits are falling for households of all sizes (see chart 2). Under the USDA’s “Thrifty Food Plan,” this reduction is equal to about a week’s worth of meals for a 9-year-old child.

Note: The entire bar is the October benefit for a family. The lighter section of the bar is how much benefit is lost due to the ARRA expiration, and the darker section is what remains for a family in November.

Families who are still struggling today in the aftermath of the recession will have to get by with less support. They can try to follow the USDA’s suggested cost saving tips or seek out additional help from food pantries and other organizations

3Comments

SNAP in Arkansas | The Made Thing :: 8:02 am on November 8th, 2013:

[...] the month to raise money for Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance? On November 1st, SNAP benefits saw a reduction. If you follow political news at all, you might remember a discussion about the Farm Bill. SNAP is [...]

Are older Americans "winning" the war on poverty? :: 8:53 am on January 7th, 2014:

[...] Poverty rates are higher among all children in 2012. In fact, poverty is higher in 2012 than in 1968 or 1979 for every age group younger than about 55. This is partly due to a shift in antipoverty strategy away from any cash assistance for parents and working-age single adults, and toward tax credits and in-kind assistance, especially food assistance. Unfortunately, programs that tend to offer the most support to poor children, including food stamps and nutrition assistance for women, infants, and children, have faced cuts in recent years. [...]

MetroTrends best of 2013 :: 4:12 pm on May 28th, 2014:

[...] myths to SNAP cuts, in 2013, our bloggers covered it all. You voted (inadvertently, with your pageviews), and here are [...]